THIS WAS my next question: “What is your conception regarding the process of creation (srishti)? From which place does the wave of creation arise, and how does it arise?”
The Sadhu said: “Look, this is an extremely mysterious subject. What yogis call Koola, I call Bhāvākāśa (the space of pure feeling or emotional ether). In this Bhāvākāśa, the vision of pure feeling (bhāva) manifests itself; the activity of creation is subsequent to that. At the root of creation lies Desire (Ichchhā). Why? Because without desire, creation cannot occur. But this desire can be either kāma (lust) or prema (divine love). From kāma arises ordinary creation; from prema arises divine creation — but both fall under the category of creation.
“Due to the vibration in the ocean of feeling (bhāva-rāśi), a specific vibration caused by desire condenses and takes the form of a Bindu (point or seed). Once the formation of the bindu is complete, this bindu moves into a triangle (trikona). Its other name is Yoni. This bindu can blossom forth in the head (sahasrāra or ājñā), in the chest region (anāhata), at the navel-root (maṇipūra), or at the very mūlādhāra (root).
“Depending on the place where it blossoms, different varṇas (colours or qualities) become available as a result. From the tattvic (elemental) point of view, this is also the root cause of the distinction of varṇas such as Brāhmaṇa etc.
“When the bindu is formed, feeling (bhāva) no longer remains — everything becomes feeling-less (bhāva-śūnya). At this point, the vibration ceases. The interval that exists between feeling and bindu is called Śūnya (the Void).
“When one is able to pierce through or distinguish this Śūnya, the vibration of feeling transforms into the form of bindu. In the bindu, this vibration remains in a restrained (niruddha) motion. Later, this motion develops. The process of its development is called Rekhā (line); it is a straight line. When this motion reaches its full development, it no longer remains; again it becomes śūnya. Then the development of Akṣara (imperishable syllable) takes place.
“Bindu is one, the line is two, the circle is three, the cross is four, and so on. In this way, there are ten measures or dimensions (māna or māpa). Only after nine does ten appear along with zero (śūnya).
“The bindu becomes agitated and turns into a line, just like the radiance of a lamp. The line, while moving in a straight path, becomes curved due to the earth’s gravitational pull and takes the shape of a circle (vṛtta). As soon as the circle is fully formed, the centre manifests. Then, due to the attraction of the centre, a diameter (vyāsa) is formed. Due to rotational and revolutionary motion, two diameters are created, and they fight with each other. The point where both meet — that is, the centre — now assumes the form of gravity (gurutva). In this way, the process continues step by step.
“When one gains victory over these four measures (bindu, line, circle, cross), the body is no longer attracted by the central gravitation. Then the Yogi can pass through walls, mountains, hills—everything.”
I curiously asked: “You mentioned various mānas (measures or dimensions). Have all the great Mahāpurushas (realised souls) pierced or transceded all these measures?”
He replied: “Everyone’s spiritual progress is not the same. Lord Buddha crossed eight measures and became bound in the ninth. He could not pierce the ninth. Many people cannot even reach the eighth.”
He further said: “This Śūnya that I am speaking of has no fixed number. Still, in a gross or general sense, one can speak of three kinds of Śūnya:
1. The first Śūnya, or the racial or caste-related Śūnya (jātigata śūnya),
2. The second is Mahāśūnya
3. The third is Ananta Śūnya (Infinite Void), about which I spoke earlier.
Wherever one movement or motion ends, there is Śūnya. The Bindu resides there. Then, gaining fresh motion, it pierces that Śūnya; upon fully completing it, another Śūnya is attained. This is how it should be understood.”
ONE DAY, a discussion took place with the Mad Sadhu regarding the essence of Bhakti.
He said: “What people in the world generally see and call ‘bhakti’ everywhere is not true bhakti in reality. I call it bhūta-bhakti or bhautika-bhakti (worldly devotion). This is another state of ignorance. And as long as this state of ignorance is not completely removed, one cannot rise above material conditioning (saṁskāras) and true devotional feeling (bhakti-bhāva) cannot be attained.
“Only when the entire being called ‘I’ – comprising the mind and the prāṇa is offered with one-pointed absorption into God and remains established in Him, is attainment of the Bhagavan possible. In truth, this is not possible without spiritual practice (sādhanā) continued over endless lifetimes.
“On the path to attaining Bhagavan, the very first thing that must be done is to fully resolve and complete all the duties and obligations imposed by one’s innate nature (svabhāva-prakṛti). If this is not done, knowledge (jñāna) cannot be gained.
“Once knowledge is obtained, bhakti must then be acquired through that very knowledge. Only then does the real possibility of attaining Bhagavan become visible. Before this stage, the question of (true) bhakti does not even arise.
“Pure bhakti alone is real bhakti. This pure bhakti cannot be attained until ignorance is completely removed. As long as one has not understood the mystery of the Bhagavan’s act of creation and has not realised His infinite power, the Ego (ahaṁbhāva or ahaṁkāra) cannot be destroyed. And as long as the ego is not destroyed, where can pure bhakti come from?”
“After pure bhakti (śuddha bhakti), there arises the state of utterly pure feeling (viśuddha bhāva). Then, the attainment of the Divine Being (bhagavat-sattā) happens spontaneously, by itself.
One day, Babaji remarked in the context of the various avatāras of the Bhagavan:
“In reality, Bhagavan never descends to the mortal world because He possesses the six divine opulences (ṣaḍ-aiśvarya) in full and is perfect and complete. For Him, neither ascent nor descent is possible.
“What the sacred books call avatāra is something entirely different. All the avatāras exist eternally in the transcendent realm as eternally perfect portions (nitya-siddha aṁśa) and ray-like expansions (kalā). When there is a purpose to be fulfilled in the mortal world, those very beings descend. It is they who are generally referred to as the avatāras (descents or incarnations) of the Bhagavan.
“The mark of a true devotee is that he knows nothing other than the Bhagavan — he has no awareness of anything apart from Bhagavan.
To be continued
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